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Milk Link, one of the UK's leading integrated dairy businesses, has unveiled details of its environmentally friendly packaging initiative: Project Greenscape.

The project, which has initially focused on working in partnership with British retail chain Marks & Spencer (M&S) on reducing the environmental impact of its cheese packaging, will during 2008 deliver on a cost-neutral basis:

23% reduction in the weight of primary packaging supplied, 39% of the total weight of the packaging will be suitable for recycling, 25% of the total weight of the packaging supplied will be from recycled raw material, while full pack functionality and benefits will be maintained.

Milk Link has now started to roll out these developments to its other cheese retail customers with full conversion anticipated by early 2009.

Milk Link Head of Innovation Matt Richards, said: "Project Greenscape is a tangible demonstration of Milk Link's commitment to meeting the needs of our customers in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner. Through working in partnership with M&S and our other major customers to develop innovative packaging solutions we have demonstrated that it is possible to both be 'green' whilst still delivering the highest levels of quality and functionality."

Marks & Spencer Head of Food Packaging Helene Roberts, said: "Our ultimate aim is to reduce packaging where possible, and to use suitable materials where this is not possible. As part of our Plan A 100 point plan, we are committed to sending no waste to landfill from our operations by 2012. The work we are doing with Milk Link fits perfectly into this."

Project Greenscape - background In the Autumn of 2006, Milk Link anticipated that it would see an increased focus from its major customers in the area of primary packaging and its perceived environmental impact. In particular, the contribution of primary packaging to landfill waste, its ability to be recycled and the use of recycled or renewable/sustainable raw materials in its manufacture.

In response Milk Link initiated Project Greenscape, the objectives of which were:

1. to develop solutions that provide an overall reduction in the weight of primary packaging

2. to develop solutions that provide an overall increase in the percentage of packaging that can be recycled

3. wherever possible, to develop solutions during the manufacturing stage that use raw materials from recycled or sustainable/renewable sources

4. to maintain current pack functionality and benefits to develop cost neutral solutions which can be rolled-out across all our cheese products Development of the new packaging formats was carried out during 2007 focusing on barrier film, base webs, top webs, stand on trays and labels. The first Project Greenscape packaging innovations were successfully launched into the market in September 2007 in partnership with Marks & Spencer. Milk Link has now started to roll out these developments to its other retail customers with full conversion nticipated by early 2009.